College credit hours play a key role in factoring the GPA equivalent of an earned letter grade. Credit hours for classes are associated with the total number of hours per week that an individual class is scheduled. For instance, an introductory biology class may consist of 3 credit hours because students meet for three hours each week. However, a gym class may only consist of one credit hour because that is the total amount of time that students spend in that class each week.
Grade points reflect the number of numerical points assigned to a specific letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) received in a class. In Georgia, the letter grade "A" equals 4 grade points; "B" equals 3 grade points; "C" equals 2 grade points; "D" equals one grade point; and a letter grade of "F" results in zero earned grade points.
Not all Georgia colleges honor a plus/minus grading scale. For colleges that award these types of grades, such as "B+" or "C-" letter grades, there is a way to calculate this for GPA purposes. It is important to check with your school of interest to determine how plus/minus grades are taken into account for GPA purposes and where the scale is set for what constitutes plus or minus letter grades. For instance, the University of Georgia establishes that a "B+" equals a 3.3 grade point whereas a "B" equals a 3.0 grade point.
To calculate your GPA, multiply the credit hours for each class taken by the grade point assigned by your school. For instance, if you received an "A" letter grade in a 3-credit-hour biology class, you would multiply 3 credit hours by 4 grade points (equivalent to an "A") and result in 12 overall points. Do this for every class, then add up the total overall points earned and divide that by the total credit hours. This results in your overall GPA.